


Keep your face to the Sun

by Ageofavalon



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23279857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ageofavalon/pseuds/Ageofavalon
Summary: PROMPT:"Shadow joining the Links on their adventures. Whether or not this gets angsty bc no one trusts a dark Link, or it's fluff bc Four and Shadow become closer friends is up to you. I really just would like to see more content with Shadow in it (can be as angsty and pain-filled as whoever is writing it wants to be)"It is a beautiful night in Hyrule. And Vaati is a horrible mage.(But like a sunbeam bursting though the clouds, hope will shine through.)(A.K.A Shadow deserved a chance in the light: The Fic)
Comments: 46
Kudos: 582
Collections: Linked Universe





	Keep your face to the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SilverDragonMS](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonMS/gifts).



> Written for the Birthday Bash celebrations on Discord for the fabulous Silver, in collaboration with DF-Chan and Lari2311. I will be posting links to their absolutely incredible artwork as soon as it becomes available.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

-Helen Keller

\---

The portal had appeared from nowhere, pulling Link in. 

The Four Sword had been the last to go through, something running down the flat of the blade as it was drawn through the portal. It almost looked like a bead of water, forced from the legendary blade as if the portal itself refused to accept it, pushing it away until it fell to the floor and sat, alone in the grass, while Link disappeared into another adventure.

The bead swirled in shades of dark blue and purple, the odd flash of grey piercing through at random, becoming stronger and stronger as time went on. 

Without the influence of the Four Sword keeping it bound, the power contained within was slowly regaining control over itself. It still took weeks for it to become strong enough to reform into a familiar shape, but that was of no consequence. 

After all, Link wasn’t here to hinder him any longer.

The spirit of the mage Vaati, formerly of the Minish, The Reborn, the Transfigured and the Wrathful Terror of Hyrule, stretched his arms towards the moonless sky and took in a deep breath of cold night air.

It was good to be back.

Although, he thought, turning a blood-red gaze on his hands and scowling as he flexed them, his exhausted power failing to heed his call, it would take time before he would be able to face that wretched child in battle and regain his lost honour. But he had time. The little hero thought he was dead after all, seeing as he had managed to seal him in the Four Sword before that traitorous Shadow had broken the Dark Mirror and sacrificed himself to destroy Vaati.

It was a good plan, he had to admit. Breaking that damn mirror should have ensured both of their deaths, shattering Vaati wholly and completely. His power would have been thrown out, would have been redistributed across all living things, as was the way of magic, and left behind only his original, weak, Minish body crumpled and lifeless on the floor. His soul would have passed into the beyond where all souls eventually went to rest without the magic there to hold it back, and that would have been it, in theory. Never able to be reformed. Never to live again.

But Vaati’s essence, his magic and soul, had been stuck, caught in the Four Sword, and when the magic echoing from the broken mirror had reached him, it had only shattered him within the confines of the sword. But he had been a mage so long that his magic and soul were intertwined, and as they were contained by the force and power of the blade, he was able to slowly, painstakingly drag himself back together, piece by piece and inch by inch.

It had done him no good, until now. The blade had contained him, allowing him to make himself whole, but it had also kept him trapped and unable to affect the world in any way. Oh, he had tried, of course. Link had kept the Four Sword with him after all, rather than sealing it back into the shrine, and it would have been oh-so sweet to tip his own essence into Link’s body, to overpower the little wretch and use his form to enact his revenge over Princess Zelda, over the maidens and the Minish alike, over  _ Hyrule. _

But he couldn’t. 

All he could do was rage and beat at the shining metal walls of his prison, and to desperately try to slip free whenever Link used the power of the sword to split in the hopes that the bars of his jail would widen enough to escape. They never did, and so he raged again and again in vain.

But now…

Oh, now he could start making plans. He would need a body, of course, as he was sure that in the intervening time his pathetic little Minish body had been returned to the earth. Or possibly burned, since he was thought of as a criminal to his people. He’d long since renounced his original species after all, seeking a greater path, and if that made him a criminal, well. Their tiny opinions meant nothing to him.

But it did make acquiring a strong enough form to enact his vengeance that much more tricky. He needed something to build upon after all, something he had a connection to and could pour his essence into. Right now he could only stalk the shadows, as his essence would shrivel up and die in the light. After fighting so hard to remain alive, it would be disappointing to be taken out by the sun of all things. And like this he couldn’t touch the living world or any of its inhabitants.

If only he had access to a magical form strong enough to physically impact the world whenever he pleased. A form that could properly channel his magic. A form like the Shadow had.

Vaati paused.

His eyes opened wider as realisation hit him.

His mouth quirked upwards, then upwards some more. Cackling, gleeful laughter spilled out of him, poured from him, a river of mirth that was swept away by the wind.

The  _ Shadow. _

That blasted creature had resisted death before, had been pulled from the mirror after it’s supposed end. Who’s to say that the destruction of the mirror had ended it this time? It hadn’t ended Vaati after all. 

If it was there, it would be trapped. Weak. Injured.

Helpless.

Ripe for the picking.

Assembling the mirror again would be an easy task, even in a non-corporeal form. The mirror was magic, dark magic, and it would take only a tiny effort to interact with it where the rest of the vile light-soaked world would take all his strength to even touch. He could find the mirror pieces, shining at him like tiny beacons of power from where they sat scattered across Hyrule, and bring them together once more. Even now he could see them when he closed his eyes, calling to him. Begging to be made whole once more.

If the shadow wasn’t there, well then, that was one less being to stand in his way. The mirror had power all of its own, of course, and it would be a relatively simple task to harvest it and use it to build his own reserves up.The power may even be enough by itself for him to create a new form.

And if the Shadow  _ was _ there, why, it would be a perfect start to his revenge. It had, after all, betrayed him. Tricked him and fought against him with the aid of all the little Link aspects, and tried to kill him for good with that reckless mirror stunt. It would only be fair. And then, when his body was about to fail, Vaati could take it. Trap the Shadow in it’s own mind and assume control, and use its Link-shaped form to carry out all his plans.

The cries of the Princess would be ever sweeter if it was the form of her dear friend causing her pain.

And the poor little Shadow would have to watch helplessly as his body caused irreparable damage, as it sat on a throne of bodies and ground the population of Hyrule under his feet. As it slaughtered the Minish, the Hyruleans, and finally, Link. He would be eternally tormented by the memory of ripping his heroic friend apart with his own two hands, and Vaati would ensure he would never,  _ ever, _ forget it.

Vaati let his spirit float up into the air, far above the trees until he could see the glimmer of lights in the distance.

It was a beautiful night in Hyrule, and he was a horrible mage.

\---

“There’s no way it’s actually Vaati, though apparently he looks very similar. But Link was there when he was destroyed.”

“I should hope so, it took me long enough to do it.” Four played with the spoon in his hand, worrying at his lip before looking back up at Zelda. “What does this imposter want?”

Zelda took another sip of tea, trying to disguise the slight shake in her hands. She wasn’t worried, she  _ wasn’t.  _ Vaati may have kidnapped her and turned her to stone, but he  _ was _ dead and whoever this idiot was would get what was coming to him. There were nine warriors in her sitting room that would ensure that. There was no need to worry.

It didn't make this next part any easier.

“According to what the Sheikah have gathered,” She set her teacup down in its saucer, folding her hands in her lap and fixing Four with a cautious stare. “He’s after the shards of the Dark Mirror.”

Four nearly dropped his cup, only his lightning-quick reflexes saving it from hitting the table. Thankfully he had long since drained the tea.

“They’re certain?”

“Yes.”

“What’s a Dark Mirror?” Sky interrupted, visibly confused.

“It’s an object of ancient power that was used to seal away a dark tribe many aeons ago.” Zelda explained, trying to ignore the slightly horrified look that Twilight was giving her. “After their failed invasion the mirror was taken to the Temple of Darkness so it could be hidden away from the light forevermore.”

“I assume that ‘forevermore’ was a generous estimate.” Time gently took the teacup from Four’s hand, snapping him out of painful memories.

“The mirror was stolen.” Four glanced around the room, catching the eyes of each of his friends in turn. “Back on my last adventure, we found it missing from the temple. We managed to retrieve it, but to cut a long story short, a friend of mine realised we had to shatter it in order to kill Vaati.” Four took a deep breath, fingers digging into his legs. “...He did it, and it worked, but it destroyed him too.”

Zelda took over the explanation, keeping the attention away from Four as Time shuffled closer to him on the sofa they were sharing and gently settled an arm around his shoulders. “I had the pieces of the mirror gathered up and spread throughout Hyrule. They were well hidden, I made sure of that. We couldn’t risk the mirror being reformed.”

“Would Vaati return, if it was?” Warrior shifted into a more upright position on his chair.

“Up until now, I would have said no.” Zelda shook her head gently. “But the mirror itself was powerful, and a gateway to another world on top of that. Who knows what it could do? Whether it’s bringing Vaati back, releasing the invading tribe or some other reason, I doubt whoever is collecting the pieces has good intentions. While we hid them well, several reports have claimed that they saw this Vaati lookalike holding what looked like shards of glass in areas that the pieces were hidden. He’s even raided the homes of a few of the former soldiers that distributed them, although he didn’t seem to cause any damage. Hence why I was so relieved when you all arrived at the palace. Link.” She faced Four again, his miserable expression matching her own. “I wish I did not have to ask this of you, truly. But will you help me find out what’s going on?”

“Of course.” Four pushed himself to his feet, sliding out from under Time’s arm. “This isn’t something that can be ignored. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Err,  _ we’ll _ get to the bottom of it. Or did you think you were leaving us behind?” Legend rolled his eyes, quickly finishing the almond pastry in his hand and standing as well. Around the room, the others started to gather their things. “We aren’t letting you tackle this alone.”

Four stared at them before breaking out into a subdued smile. “I’d expect nothing less.”

\---

It was Vaati.

Of course it was fucking Vaati.

Four’s luck couldn’t be good for once, oh no. The enemy that had plagued him on both his adventures, second only to Ganon himself, was standing before a nearly assembled mirror in the Temple of Darkness, holding what looked to be the final piece, very much alive.

Or possibly not. Vaati’s form was translucent, the frame of the mirror showing through one sleeve. His form was wispy and blurred, as if viewed through a pair of thick glasses. The only truly solid thing about him was his eyes, ruby red and crystal clear, wide in shock. He clearly hadn't been expecting to be found.

And why should he? The Temple of Darkness was abandoned. No-one from either the Dark World’s version or the normal version of Kakariko village would venture inside, or tell any passing travellers where it was. Link had only been told because the corrupted villagers were hoping he’d fall prey to the monsters who’d sworn allegiance to Ganon, as they had.

  
The Dark World was disturbing.

Thankfully it hadn’t been around long enough to cause irreparable damage. The Dark World had retreated after Vaati’s defeat, leaving the areas it had affected free of its curse. The Temple of Darkness was still in place near the village, just with less monster activity, and it was a simple matter to get there and head to the former resting place of the Dark Mirror. Four and Zelda had overseen the frame of the mirror being brought back to its original resting place once the adventure was over. It had felt right to do so, as this was where it had rested for so long, and had the added benefit of knowing exactly where it was should anything like this happen again. They’d ensured the frame was very securely fastened to the floor this time, going so far as to melt the stone around the frame with the fire rod and sink it a little way into the flagstones at Vio and Blue’s suggestion. They had hoped this would prevent the frame from being stolen.

It appeared they had been correct. Vaati had been unable to take the mirror to another location, and Four had known exactly where to go to stop him.

“You…”

Vaati was gaping at them, even as his magic activated and started to swirl the dust from the floor.

“You little  _ snake. _ How can you be here, now?!” Vaati threw his hand forward, automatically sending several small tornadoes flying towards the assembled party of heroes. They grew in size as they approached, towering towards the ceiling and bearing down on the group rapidly. “I’m so  _ close...” _

This last utterance was wailed into the space between them, dripping in desperation and anger.

It was abruptly cut off, Vaati choking on his words.

Because as his attacks had reached the party, dust and debris threatening to rain down on their heads, all nine boys had stepped to the side. And standing at the back of the group, her own hand raised in answer, was Zelda.

A beam of pure light shot forward, tearing through the tornadoes and sending all the rubble crashing to the floor in front of the group. The echo from their rapid descent covered the thud as Vaati was thrown into the wall, Light surrounding him and pinning him in place. The shard of mirror in his hand was knocked free and slid out of arm's reach.

Vaati could do nothing but writhe and scream, the light eating into his essence and weakening his grip on the world. On its own the light wouldn't kill him, only hurt him and hold him in place.

No. To kill him would require either a blood sacrifice and a large amount of dark magic, say, from the destruction of a powerful magical object, or…

Or the Sword that Seals the Darkness. The one that hadn’t been seen in centuries, hidden away deep in the Lost Woods away from the soldiers of light and dark alike. The one that Vaati had never seen, and Four had never touched, both of whom had only heard about in rumours.

The one that sat sheathed on Sky’s back.

The one that he pulled free and thrust into Four’s hand.

Zelda was racing forward, dress billowing, eyes glowing with the power of Wisdom and the light that was the birthright of her line glinting off her jewellery. At her side with the huge sword held in readiness, Four kept pace, his eyes fixed on Vaati’s.

Vaati could see no mercy there. 

If he’d known what to look for, he would have seen nothing that was usually present. None of Red’s optimism. None of Green’s focus. None of Blue’s impulsiveness. None of Vio’s calm.

There was only a deep, burning, all-encompassing anger.

All of Four was in agreement.

They, he, had had  _ enough. _

As they reached Vaati’s struggling form, light piercing through him in so many places that it was hard to make out his outline, with eight sets of footsteps pounding behind them as the others followed, Four drew the Master Sword back in preparation.

One last step.

An exhale.

He swung.

And Vaati shattered.

The Master Sword cut through Vaati’s essence diagonally from his neck down to one hip, carving through magic, power and the wall behind him, and like a fragile piece of china dropped from a great height, he splintered.

With one last, tortured scream, his magic burst outwards in a shockwave. The shards of mirror sitting in their frame rattled and shook with the impact. A huge gust of wind whipped at the clothes and hair of the group, knocking Four and Zelda off balance with its strength, forcing Twilight and Sky to dive forward and catch them before they hit the ground. The others came up behind them, surveying the scene as the dust settled and the power carried by the wind tapered off, banishing it and circulating it back out into the world.

There was nothing left where Vaati had been. No glitter of blue or purple, no glimpse of grey. No blood-red splattered on stone. Not even Zelda’s light was left, the wind dispersing that power as well.

Vaati was gone for good.

There was a moment of silence, almost louder than the wind and rush of power had been, before that too was broken.

“That's for turning me to stone, you bastard.” Zelda gasped, shaking from exhaustion where she was propped up by Sky.

“That’s for Shadow.” Four mumbled, tucked into Twilight’s side. Twilight gave his arm a gentle squeeze, Four shooting him a wan smile before hauling himself to his feet. He passed the Master Sword back to Sky, whispering his thanks to the blade and receiving a gentle chime in response. Zelda caught his hand, gripping it hard for a moment, and together they revelled in the mingled horror and relief of finally,  _ finally _ ridding the land of Vaati once and for all.

As the others drew closer, Hyrule demanding to know if anyone had been hit by debris and scowling at Legend and Wild’s suddenly shifty expressions, Wind gushing with Zelda over her use of the light, something caught Four’s eye.

The last mirror shard.

He wandered over to it, Wind and Zelda’s conversation echoing in the chamber behind him (“-a rush, I’ve never had the chance to use it before-” “-so cool, but I gotta ask, how’d you end up in your regalia? You were wearing travelling clothes on the way down here.” “...I genuinely have no idea. Maybe using the power of the goddesses comes with quick-change abilities?” “Huh, weird. That’d make sense of Tetra’s outfit change on my first adventure though.”) and stooped to pick it up. Close up, the shard was far larger than it first appeared. It was the size of a small plate, roughly the width of both his hands held together with a shallow crack from the midpoint down to the bottom. The sharp edges and points bordering the shard caught at his skin as he held it, one slicing the tip of his thumb and causing a bead of blood to smear, discreetly, between his skin and the glass.

Four didn’t notice.

Caught in the light of the quarter-moon beaming down through the cracked roof of the temple, his reflection was starkly illuminated. One half of his face washed in darkness, hair painted wine-dark and a glint of light under one eye, and the other half with ashen skin, luminous strands and a ring of shadow that looked as deep as the weariness in his soul. Goddess above, he was just so exhausted. Memories tugged at him, screaming for attention with the voice of a lost enemy-turned-ally-turned friend, remembered eyes of washed-out grey that had left him unable to sleep. His face, but not his face. Four that were briefly Five before they had realised that defeating Vaati would require so much more than they were expecting. 

And after all of that, the motherfucker hadn't even had the decency to stay dead. But Shadow had.

There was a hand on his shoulder. Twilight, sympathetic gaze catching his in the mirror glass.

Four let out the sigh he’d been holding, and Twilight’s grip tightened just a little.

“You should put it in place.”

Four blinked, then twisted slightly to see Zelda at his other shoulder.

“Separating the mirror pieces didn't work, so we’ll have to find somewhere to hide the whole thing anyway. And Vaati’s gone, so whatever dark plan he had won’t affect us now.” She smiled. “It should be whole again.”

All the air left his lungs in a rush. Letting his feet move of their own accord, he walked over to the dais that held the mirror frame and ascended the stairs, never taking his eyes off the shard.

(Behind him, Twilight finally looked up at the Mirror and went abruptly pale, Time rushing over to steady him as he wavered in place. He  _ knew _ that mirror.)

Stone chips ground under his boots as he reached the top, finally looking up to see the ornate golden frame of the Dark Mirror. Dust had collected in the lines and dips of the intricate geometric patterns carved into the surface, tarnishing its shine a little. If he had gone around to view the back of the frame, even the triforce symbol that stood proud over the decorative middle stone was caked with dirt, the central triangle packed with it. The frame was filled with jagged, unevenly shattered pieces of glass, somehow fitting back together perfectly and leaving little evidence of having been snapped apart, but in the middle and on level with Four’s eyeline was a hole.

A hole that was exactly the shape and size of the glass in his hands.

Four moved to within inches of the surface, and, with surprisingly steady hands, slotted the final shard into place where it belonged.

Nothing happened. He hadn’t expected anything to happen, really. The last shard sat perfectly level with the rest, the breakage lines almost invisible, and nothing happened.

The air was full of dust and quiet mourning.

Four’s reflection stared out at him, unchanged.

He lent forward to touch his forehead to the glass, the palm of one hand pressed flat next to it, and silently breathed out the goodbye he had never had a chance to give.

…

There was a warm pressure against his forehead, in contrast to the cool glass under his hand.

And then his fingertips warmed.

And then his palm.

Four pulled back, confused, and caught the body that tumbled out of the mirror entirely on instinct, the shock and the sudden weight sending them both to the floor.

Shadow’s feet were still stuck in the mirror but his body lay in Four’s lap, limp and unmoving except for the harsh, shallow breathing that wracked his frame. Stark white skin with a blue tinge underneath, littered with cuts that sluggishly oozed blood. That same blood matted his inky-purple hair and stained his pale shirt and dark tunic, copies of the outfit that Four had worn what seemed like a lifetime ago. One arm was bent at an odd angle under ripped fabric, bone pressing out against the skin in an unsettling way.

He was injured. He was unconscious. He was  _ impossible. _

But he was alive.

As a cacophony of voices bounced off the walls of the temple, as the thunder of racing feet drew closer, all Four could do was hold Shadow close and stare at his face.

_ He’s alive, he’s alive… _

\---

The room was mostly dim when Shadow awoke. The others hadn’t been sure how the light would affect him, so only the closest window had a break in the curtains to let in a shaft of late-afternoon sunlight while the rest of the room was lit by the large hearth on the opposite wall.

Zelda had dragged them all into her chambers on their arrival back at the castle, and was now sat cross-legged on her bed with one of Shadow’s hands in her own. When Wild had suggested setting up his teleportation medallion at the entrance to the palace so that they had a way to get back quickly should anything go wrong, she hadn’t thought they would actually need to use it. Not with nine experienced fighters and her own powers, but there was no way that they would have been able to account for this. She could only thank the goddesses that Wild had thought of a backup plan. Dragging an injured Shadow through the kingdom in full daylight would only have ended badly.

On Shadow’s left, Hyrule was concentrating on delivering his healing magic where it was needed most. He hadn’t really paid attention to where the wounded being had come from or how Zelda and Four knew him, he’d only seen their joy at his presence and fear over his injuries and moved to help however he could. It had been tricky to get started, for whatever this ‘Shadow’ was, he was most definitely not Hylian and Hyrule’s magic didn’t quite know where to go to begin the healing process. But after a minute or so the magic started to take, and slowly went to work fixing the worst of the damage.

Four was in shock. He had roused enough once they got to the castle to scoop Shadow up into his arms, carry him through the halls and set him on Zelda’s bed, and then had promptly climbed up after him and made himself comfy, carefully moving Shadow’s head so it was laying in his lap. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Shadow's face since then, but had long since fallen into looking without really  _ seeing _ , gaze far away and hazy.

So he didn’t realise Shadow had woken up at first.

Shadow didn’t register much of his surroundings, since he was only awake for a few seconds. He didn’t register Zelda’s warm, slightly sweaty grip on his hand, or Hyrule manipulating his injured arm. He didn't register the softness of the bed underneath his body or the other eight presences in the room trying to figure out just what on Earth was going on.

All he saw, when his eyes focused for a brief, brief moment, was a pair of almost electric-blue eyes and a curtain of hair turned to liquid gold by a shaft of sunlight.

It didn’t matter where he was or who else was here. Link was here, and that meant he was safe.

Shadow’s lips curled into the most genuine smile they’d ever held, and he slipped back into unconsciousness with Link’s gasp of his name echoing in his ears.

\---

When he next awoke, he was curled up on his side and someone was breathing into his hair.

As he slowly crawled his way to consciousness, Shadow became more aware of who was around him. Disregarding the fact that he had been ‘born’ from very limited evil inside Link’s heart, he’d spent so long around him that he would probably be able to identify his aspects if he was suddenly struck deaf and blind. That’s how he became aware that Vio was holding him close, his chin resting on top of Shadow’s head while Shadow’s face was tucked into the crook of Vio’s neck. Red was plastered against his back, arms wound around him from behind and squeezed in between Vio’s body and Shadow’s. It was Red that was making the back of his head overly warm with his breathing, and after a moment Shadow realised that his hair was a bit damp as well.

(He didn’t quite have the awareness to wonder why this was, and if he had, well, he wouldn’t quite have believed it.)

His head was cradled in Green’s lap, now, along with Vio’s and Red’s perched on either side. One shift from Green would have sent both the other aspects tumbling off, but he was dead to the world, asleep in a very awkward angle up against the headboard. Green had done his best to wrap his arms around all three of them, and his hands now rested gently on Vio and Red’s upper arms.

Blue, once Shadow concentrated a little more, was seated by their feet next to the bright, goddess-light in Hylian form that was Zelda. Her’s was the only light that hadn’t hurt him in the past, and it was comforting to have her here too. Almost, but not quite as much, as it was to have Link here, close enough to hear one heartbeat thumping in four chests. Blue and Zelda both had a hand on his leg, keeping a line of contact even as they were faced away from him and speaking to others in the room.

Blue’s thumb was stroking, gently, over the fabric of his leggings.

(They weren’t his, he would realise later. These leggings were butter-soft and silky, the fabric was far too fine to be his. The shirt he was wearing was worn thin from many washings and time in the sun, cottony and comfortable and a little bit too big.

There was an empty gap in the sleepwear drawer of Zelda’s dresser and an empty spot in Four’s bag.)

Hyrule’s magic was still working on his wounds, and he needed all his strength to heal. So Shadow slipped back into slumber with the people he cared about most clustered around him, and thought no more.

\---

“I have a question.”

“Just the one?” Shadow quirked an eyebrow at Twilight from where he sat leaning into Four, the blankets piled up around their waists. Hyrule’s magic was working well, but slowly, and they hadn’t found a way to speed up the process. Potions hadn’t had much of an effect, if any, but as Shadow was getting stronger his own magic was taking over and helping the healing along. It was the third day since he had fallen out of the mirror and he was finally able to stay awake for longer than a few minutes.

All ten of the people who had stayed with him were desperate for an explanation. Zelda and Four (“which,  _ fucking hell  _ Link, I know you needed a nickname but isn’t that a bit on the nose?”) had explained as much as they felt they could without Shadows permission, detailing how they knew him and a rough outline of the various problems Vaati had caused during both times he had been running around, but they had only really known half the story. It had been up to Shadow to fill in the gaps, and he’d done so with only a little hesitance.

He hadn't wanted Link or Zelda to think any less of him, but they deserved his honesty.

So he detailed how he had come into being. Link had very, very little evil in his heart, and so when Shadow had been ‘born’ as it were, he’d actually not had a lot to go on. A darker heart gave more of a ‘blueprint’ for how the shadow impersonating them should act, how they should walk and talk and behave in order to cause the most pain and chaos. Shadow hadn’t really had that guidance. So when he’d been drawn out of the mirror by Ganon he’d only had a vague understanding of Link as a person, along with his appearance.

There had, however, been a nearby source of evil. Close enough for Shadow, desperately flailing for any sort of dark influence, had grasped on to.

Ganon.

Ganon’s cruelty, ruthlessness and calculating nature became Shadow’s own, overriding everything he knew about Link. He’d been brought into being to aid in Vaati and Ganon’s plans, and he did so with the two of them as models for his own behaviour, thus gaining their approval. It was almost funny to think back now that while he’d had absolutely no desire to follow them, and was in fact planning to rule over Hyrule himself once he could figure out how to do away with them, he’d still been influenced by Ganon so much that he might as well have been following him. All the awful things he did - attacking and nearly killing Link, kidnapping Zelda on Vaati’s behalf, trying to get Vio to turn against the other aspects - they were all, knowingly or not, done under Ganon’s banner.

But on the other hand, while it was Ganon’s influence, the actions were still Shadows. He couldn’t and wouldn’t excuse his own behaviour. Hell, he’d been positively gleeful during some of it, lost completely in the rush of power and unable to see that darkness and evil were not the same thing.

It had taken Zelda to break him out of it.

Standing dripping wet  _ (mingled water and blood, failure coursing through his veins) _ in the Temple of Darkness, shying away from the light as if it were a living thing ready to tear him to shreds, Zelda had called him a hero. Told him not to fear the light.

The shock he had felt at her words was like falling into ice water. She’d been afraid, she’d been angry, she’d very quickly been turned into a lump of rock afterwards, but she’d still given him the first positive words of his existence in the world of light. And that little seed of awe and gratefulness had fed on the barely remembered light inside him that was Link’s, growing and growing until he wasn’t afraid of it anymore.

And then Zelda had been turned to stone, and he wasn’t having that.

Dark he may be but he’d learnt to recognise the difference between that and evil, and  _ fuck _ if Vaati and Ganon weren’t evil. The person he was supposed to be modelled on wouldn't stand for it, and now he was making decisions fully for himself, neither was the person Shadow was becoming.

So he’d jumped into the fray in Vio’s place, pushing Vaati back, and relishing the look on he bastard sorcerer’s face when the real Vio had shown up and Vaati realised who exactly had turned on him.

They’d fought like a team, an actual team, he and the others covering each other’s backs and blocking shots meant for their partners, and it felt perfect. Like he was supposed to be doing this all along.

He’d tricked Link into releasing the sword, and by extension, Vaati. He’d nearly killed Link, or the parts of Link, multiple times. Hell, he’d tried to throw Vio into Death Mountain. He’d caused them nothing but pain.

And yet they were still willing to trust him to watch their backs.

To treat him like he deserved to be cared about.

To treat him like...family.

In the end, it is that which makes the decision to shatter the mirror so easy. 

He gets Link to use the Four Sword to hold Vaati in place and slips into the mirror. He hovers just below the surface, feeling the pulse of magic that connected Vaati and himself and let them straddle the two worlds…

And flings himself and his sword into the glass with every scrap of strength and magic he can muster.

The cracks in the glass streak across his own skin, cutting deep and clean into his body, and as he shatters to the mingled noise of screaming coming from six throats  _ (two in agony, four in horror) _ he smiles through the pain.

Cracks his eyes open one more time.

Catches Vio’s gaze, luminous blue, screaming for him.

And he’s gone.

Some time later, there’s a smear of warm, living blood on a mirror shard and something broken made whole again. There’s a presence under the surface of the mirror that is trapped between life and death. There’s magic in the blood, inside and outside the mirror. There’s a magic in the Mirror that recognises a cry, a hopeless plea and miserable farewell, and a tiny, answering call. 

(He doesn’t have enough awareness to know he called out, but the Mirror does.)

And then there is a nearly-dead Shadow in a boy’s lap, and tears, and joy.

There’s arms holding him up, there’s bodies surrounding him, safe and warm, and there’s the tingle of healing magic flowing into him with a familiar-unfamiliar magical signature.

There’s two people who love him and eight more who are curious and a little wary but willing to hear him out.

Eight more Heroes of Courage. That had been a fucking bombshell, and he’d thought Link was joking until he caught sight of the triforce imprint on the back of Hyrule’s hand. And Link is Four, and their brother, and they love him. They went with Link and Zelda to stop Vaati without a second thought, and have kept watch over Shadow and helped him heal even though they hadn’t any bloody idea who he was.

They’d been owed the truth too.

And when it all came out, they’d sat in silence, the eight in chairs and the three on the bed, and Shadow had waited for judgment of some kind.

Instead, he got a question.

“Well, you were pretty detailed in your explanation.” The one they called Twilight had leaned forward at some point in the story, elbows resting on his knees and his chin rested on folded hands. The mark on his head was oddly familiar, and it was nagging at Shadow something fierce. “I’m sure the others will have questions too, but I just have to know...and this is going to sound weird if I'm wrong -” He broke off and dropped his head into his hands, scrubbing at his face and through his hair. The man next to him, a vicious scar over one eye, leant over to place a hand on Twilight’s back. When Twilight looked up, resignation fought with hope for control of his expression. “ - but your race wouldn’t happen to be Twili, would it?”

Shadow hadn’t been expecting that.

He had  _ not been expecting that. _

He had not been expecting that  _ so much _ that he briefly forgot how the fuck lungs worked and Link had dig him in the ribs to get him to breathe again. The entire room had filled with confused murmurs and worried glances but Shadow did not break the locked gaze he held with Twilight as he choked out “How the fuck do you know that name?”

“So I’m right?”

_ “Tell me how you know.” _

“I travelled with a Twili, during my adventure.” Twilight said, resignation dropping into tiredness, and there was a story there for certain. “She had many of the powers that you have, like warping and moving through shadows, and impersonation as well. She came from the Twilight Realm, which was on the other side of a mirror. I recognised it when Four went to put the last piece in place, back at the temple.” He pulled out a painfully familiar crystal from the collar of his tunic and Shadow was staring now. “The name’s changed since then, but the appearance hasn’t. You’ll find a good place to hide it, believe me, and it’ll be fully destroyed one day. There won’t be any more risk to your people after that.”

“Risk?” Four cut in, eyeing between the two of them.

Twilight laughed, a strangled, bitter thing. “You weren’t exactly given a choice to come through the mirror, were you Shadow?”

Shadow could have smacked him for that.

“...Someone has to answer the call.” He looked away from Twilight at last, staring down at his hands. “But either one of us does so voluntarily, or someone gets dragged through. I was more likely to survive the world of light than the others. I chose to go.”

“Because you’re strong.”

“Because my magic is strong. Light...light burns away at it, and we’re beings of magic, so it burns away at  _ us. _ I was really young when my people got sealed away, so I grew up in the Twilight Realm, and my magic settled in its influence. The magic of the elders is more unstable, since they need to survive somewhere they were never meant to. Everyone else is a kid. It had to be me.” Shadow did not like the looks he was getting, so he fumbled around for a subject change.

(He had very little experience with the more nuanced hylian emotions, and thought the others looked at him in pity, where it was actually sympathy and understanding. So many of them had been too young for their burdens after all.)

“So we do settle on Twili then? The elders have been arguing about that for ages, trying to decide what we are now.” He snorted, shaking his head. “Twili. We live in the Twilight Realm, so we’re Twili. For fuck’s sake, it’s not exactly subtle is it?”

“I don’t know, it suits you.” Zelda pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Better than ‘Interlopers’, anyway.”

“Anything is better than ‘Interlopers’.”

“Fair point. I can’t claim that Hylians are any better at coming up with names than your people.”

“We’ve got living proof right here.” Shadow pulled his hand out of Zelda’s grip to gesture around the room. “There are nine sets of parents who thought it was a good idea to name their kid  _ Link.” _

There was a cacophony of sound that followed that, startled and pleased laughter and good-natured protests, and Shadow started to relax.

He could see why Link liked these guys.

(Later, there will be a hushed conversation when the others are asleep, bunking down on the floor despite his protests, claiming that they don't want to leave him without help should he need it.

His heart does funny things at that, and he wonders if he’s starting to like them too.

Link will ask him how old he is, and he’s never been good at dancing around a subject, so he’ll explain that time runs differently in the Twilight realm, and he grew much more slowly than he should have done. But at least he’d had a chance to grow at all. He’s the only child left from his generation, as the change in magic was too much for most of them and nearly all passed before the first day was over.

There are more children now, born in the Twilight magic, but he’s the only one left who was born in the light.

He’s not a kid anymore, but he hasn’t reached full maturity yet, and doesn't know when he will. So he’s probably roughly Link’s age.

Link will shake his head, and smile, and say “As if we needed any more confirmation that you were meant to be with us,” and there will be four glitters of colour in his eyes.)

But for now there is laughter, and a group that’s starting to feel like home.

—-

Shadow is coming with them whether the others like it or not. Four won’t stand for anything else.

(He hasn’t asked, and neither has Shadow, but he’s nearly 100% certain that Shadow will come with them. He doesn’t want to think about any other outcome.)

But Shadow doesn’t have  _ anything  _ that he’ll need for the road. Every weapon, every item and even his clothing from before was conjured out of magic, and while Shadow seems a lot more stable in the light now than he was (a smear of blood on both sides of a mirror, anchoring a Twili safely in the light), Four doesn’t want him spending all his magic on items. Just in case.

So he made a quick dash home. A spare satchel, leftover from his first adventure, already spelled with the internal expanding charms that would allow far more to fit than should be possible, hung over the back of a door while Four hunted in the mess that was his bedroom for the duplicate items he’d picked up over the course of his travelling.

A boomerang went in, followed by a spare bow and quiver. He’d somehow ended up with two sets of Pegasus boots, so a pair was added to the bag. A shield, one of his that he’d fixed and upgraded in the forge, went in too, along with a sword that his grandfather had made. Some bombs. A power bracelet or two, because he had a ridiculous amount of them, got tucked in next to a lamp.

He hesitated before putting in a handful of moon pearls, rolling around in a drawstring pouch, but eventually added those in too. Shadow may need (or want) to access the Dark World, and since he was living in the light now, he’d need the pearls.

It’s the other essentials that eventually stump him. Weapons and equipment he has in abundance, but he doesn’t have a spare waterskin lying around, or a wash kit, or any of the other things Shadow will need to be comfortable. They are hardly unobtainable though, and Castle Town is probably the best place to get them, so Four makes a list of everything else he needs, grabs the satchel and makes his way back to the palace.

He gets maybe halfway to Zelda’s rooms before the list is plucked out of his hands.

“The fuck is this.” Legend unfolds the list and reads it, completely ignoring Four basically scaling him in order to get it back. “A shopping list? Did Vaati eat your bag or something while we weren’t looking? You have all this.”

Four makes sure to elbow him in the nose as he climbs high enough to get the list back, and in the ear as he jumps down.

“It’s not for me.” He folds the list up again and very carefully doesn’t look as Legend goes still in realisation, rubbing his ear.

“Shadow?”

“Yeah.”

There’s a beat or two of silence, and then “You do realise between us we probably have spares of all this shit? You don’t need to waste your money, come on.” Legend drags Four back to Zelda’s chambers despite his protests. Shadow, thankfully, is asleep in the bedroom with the door shut when they burst into the sitting room, otherwise he definitely would have been woken up by Legend shouting “We have a mission, you lot!” at the rest of the group. Startled, the others all look at Four for an explanation, and he gives Legend the best death glare he can muster. It’s spectacularly ineffective if Legend’s smirk is anything to go by. Four sighs internally, squashing down fantasies of splitting and really giving Legend something to smirk about, before turning to the rest of the room.

“...I want Shadow to come with us, when we get back on the road.” He holds up the half-full satchel, trying to ignore how Zelda’s eyes go wide and the glances being shot between the others. “But he doesn’t have anything he’d need for that, so I’m packing for him. I was coming back to grab my wallet and head into the market when  _ someone _ ambushed me.”

“What did you need to go to the market for?” Sky is carving something from one of the spare bits of kindling sitting in the firewood basket, but he’s folding the knife away as he speaks.

“I’ve only really got spare weapons and equipment lying around-”

“-Four made a list of other shit he needs,” Legend states, plucking the list out of Four’s hand  _ again, _ “Anyone have spares? No point buying stuff we already have.”

The others wander over to read the list, and Four stands confused for a second before regaining his voice.

“What - no, wait, I’m not expecting anyone to -  _ Warriors don’t you dare.” _ he glares, as their resident Captain moves over to his bag and starts rummaging in its depths. He is summarily ignored by everyone, quiet discussions happening over his head despite his protests and items being produced from travelling packs. At one point, Time grabs a pen and  _ adds _ something to the list.

Within a few minutes, there is a small pile of items on one of Zelda’s fancy coffee tables. Hyrule is sorting through it and calling out what they have, which Legend is crossing off the list as they go. At the end of it there are only a few items remaining that they need to get, and Four is once again pulled along by Legend as he and Time head down to the market. Sky managed to slip the satchel off Four’s shoulder as they went, and the last thing he sees before the doors shut is Sky starting to rearrange the items to fit more neatly in the bag.

Getting the last few bits takes longer than Four expected, but that’s mainly because Time and Legend are far pickier about quality and haggling than even he is. He can’t get five paces away before one of them is calling him over to compare sizing on a nice pair of black travelling boots or holding up a shirt to check the length on him. Four could have grabbed spare clothes from his own wardrobe but...he’d wanted Shadow to have his own. His entire time in the light so far had been spent under the guise or under the control of someone else. Everything from his clothes to his weapons had been a facsimile conjured from magic, not truly real and not something he could choose. 

Even though Four and the others were picking these things for him now, at least he could say they were  _ his, _ definitively. He’d have the chance now to buy anything he wanted going forward, (and it would be absolutely anything, if the amount of rupees Wild had stuffed in Time’s spare wallet was any indication. Where did he get all his money from?!?), and if he really didn’t like something, he could turn it down. But Four wasn’t asking him to come with them until he knew Shadow was provided for.

The knee-high boots made their way into one of the shopping bags, study black leather with laces up the back of the calf, topped with a wide cuff. Various shirts, trousers and underthings were purchased, all hard-wearing and easy to care for. Legend bartered viciously with a merchant for a solid 15 minutes over a hooded cloak, woven in a thick, waterproof wool and dyed a rich midnight blue that would suit Shadow down to the bone. In the end it is Time who haggles the merchant down to a sensible price when Legend nearly comes to blows with the man and has to step away for a few minutes, but the look on the merchants face when Time takes the carefully wrapped cloak and hands it straight to Legend to stash in his bag is worth the trouble.

The last things on the list are tunics, and this is the item they struggle with the most. It’s the middle of summer and the stalls are full of light, bright colours where Shadow prefers darker and richer shades.

(They’d found this out after Shadow had flat out refused to give Zelda back her leggings, claiming the wine-dark colour suited him better than it did her. He’d only been convinced to hand them over for the laundry when she pulled out a second pair in a deep emerald green, and he’d been wearing them on rotation ever since as pajamas. One of Wild’s numerous shirts, cream coloured with a few small holes around the hem where he’d caught it on rocks and branches, joined Four’s spare nightshirt to complete the set. Four hadn't bothered adding nightclothes to the list.)

After some hunting, they find a v-necked tunic in charcoal grey that’s the right size and durable enough for travel (the herringbone weave is interesting enough that Four thinks Shadow will like it regardless of colour, but grey is practical). Two tunics would be better, but finding another one that fits their criteria is like pulling teeth, and Legend is about three seconds away from going back to the stall where they found the first one and asking whether they had any other  _ decent _ colours when something on a fabric stall catches Four’s eye.

A hint of purple is peeking out from under a bolt of linen in a truly hideous shade of yellow, which Four has no problem rolling off to the side of the table. It didn’t quite roll far enough to fall to the floor, which is a shame, as a few smears of dirt would have improved the colour by magnitudes, but Four was too distracted by the treasure he had unearthed to care about that.

The fabric is a fine wool weave, a good weight for clothing and woven with thin enough strands that it’s soft instead of itchy. The colour though - the colour could have been stolen from the most hidden nook of an amethyst geode, a purple so dark that it’s nearly black in the shade of the stall’s awning, but turns the colour of sun-ripened plums when exposed to the light, rich enough that Four’s surprised the colour doesn’t stain his fingers.

It’s  _ perfect. _

Time appears to agree, as he’s handing over enough money for two metres worth of the fabric before Four realises he’s even there. Legend is scrutinizing the trims and borders at the other end of the stall, picking something and paying for it out of Four’s sight, and prizes in hand they made their way back to the castle.

The original expansion charms on the satchel had been substantial, but as it turned out not quite enough to deal with the sheer volume of donated items. Zelda had taken it down to the court sorcerers in order to get the spells increased, so thankfully it now had plenty of room to spare and Sky was no longer stressing about fitting everything in. When Time, Legend and Four arrived back, laden with bags, he didn’t even blink before gesturing to bring the stuff over, and proceeded to lay the new items out with the existing kit.

He’d clustered it all into rough groups depending on purpose. Time’s spare waterskin, bought by Malon and never yet used, nestled up against the wooden bowl and cup that Sky had carved from a gorgeous piece of mulberry wood he’d picked up in Hyrule’s time, shiny and smooth from liberal coats of conditioning oil. These had been a project to keep his hands busy, worked on for long hours around the campfire, and would be much better off being used by someone than taking up space in his bag.

A set of cutlery had been dumped in the cup by Wild, in much the same carelessly thoughtful way he’d stuffed the wallet full of far too much money and tucked a small hoard of snacks into the side pockets of the satchel. A meteor rod had joined the weapon pile, crackling gently, as a nod to Shadow’s fondness of the fire rod. Hyrule was eyeing it warily despite Wild’s repeated assurances that it wasn't active until it was being wielded. Hyrule’s response was to slip another burn potion into the first aid kit, the small vial clinking into the others already nestled in the compact wooden box. Hyrule had put one of these together for every member of the party early on, just in case. He couldn't be everywhere at once, after all, and since nobody else really knew any healing magic they had to stay alive long enough for Hyrule to get to them. A few rolls of bandages, single servings of internal and topical potions for general injury as well as more specific ailments, medical herbs for pain management and to fight inflammation, pins, scissors and tweezers, all packed around with straw to prevent breakage and shoved into everyone’s hands one morning after an overnight potion brewing session with Wild. Hyrule was  _ not _ losing anyone to injury or illness if he could help it. Shadow would not be the exception.

The folded clothes were set down next to the bedroll that Zelda had put together, the sleeping pad, pillow and blankets already rolled up inside a large oilskin cloth and tied up with a length of tough cordage Wind had pilfered off Tetra’s ship ages ago and was glad to find a use for. Perched on top was a clean, fluffy towel stolen from her bathroom and more oilskin, this time in the form of a wash bag donated by Wind from his surplus of bags and pouches, which held the result of Warriors’s earlier rummaging. He’d pulled a huge amount of hygiene items from the depths of his bag; fresh bars of soap and shampoo in metal containers, an unused washcloth, comb and toothbrush, a razor with a few spare blades and a deodorant crystal. This last one had Legend jeering about high-matinence Captains right up until Warriors made a comment about not everyone wanting to stink like he did, which nearly led to an all out brawl on the floor before Time stepped in.

The miniature sewing kit Legend had put together was propping up a spare compass - he had so many of the damn things by now, thank fuck he could offload one onto someone else, no I’m  _ not _ a softy, shut it - and sat next to a metal firestarter and tinderbox fished out of Twilight’s bag. These had been a present from Rusl and Uli when the nights started getting colder, and were completely unused because he was travelling with a built in fur coat and a pyromaniac as a companion. The overstuffed wallet was slumped next to them, and on top of this sat a pocket knife, also a gift, this time from Groose who had hugely misjudged the size of the handle. It was too small for Sky to use for long without developing hand-cramps, but it was wickedly sharp and ideal for carving (and for slipping between ribs). Poking out from underneath the wallet was a waterproof case containing a compact fishing rod, once used by Wind to try and teach Wild to fish in the normal way and donated in the hopes that he’d have more success with their new teammate.

Once everything was organised and checked off the list, Sky packed it all away into the satchel and turned his attention to the items left to the side. The boots, which would need breaking in before they left, a fresh set of clothes to change into and the swathe of purple fabric folded neatly inside a paper bag. He reached for this last one, pulling it half out of the bag and into the light.

“Oh, this is nice.” he said, “What do you have in mind for it?”

“A tunic, hopefully.” Four had moved over to Zelda’s desk and was rummaging around in a drawer. Fishing out the measuring tape he knew she kept in there, he walked back over and pulled the fabric free from the bag, spreading it flat on the floor with Sky’s help.

“You got two meters, right? That’ll be plenty.” Legend had fished out his own, more substantial sewing kit and pulled a round of tailor’s chalk and a needle case from it. Zelda found a set of fabric shears, more often used to slit open letters and cut out leather than the more delicate crafts her tutors had long since given up on trying to interest her in, and passed them over.

Using Four’s measurements, a basic tunic outline was drafted and traced out on the fabric. Legend left extra room in the seam allowances so they could be let out to lengthen the tunic  _ just in case _ Shadow decided to grow to a respectable height (Four chucked the measuring tape at him), and after double checking the measurements and making sure he’d marked out the pocket placement on the side seams, Legend cut the pieces out and started to organise construction.

Four, Time, Legend and, surprisingly, Wind (amazing what you picked up at sea, and Tetra’s lot were a resourceful and stylish bunch) were responsible for sewing up. Zelda assigned herself to Shadow Distraction Duty along with Wild. Distraction duty apparently involved a daring raid on the kitchen, as the others found out when Twi poked his head out of the window to investigate the shrieking coming from outside and saw all three of them racing across the palace lawn, arms laden with pastries and sweets, being chased by several kitchen staff. By the time Twi got down there, Sky in tow and a passable impression of Time’s glare on his face, the kitchen staff had given up and the three teenagers were giggling breathlessly in the depths of the flower garden. Shadow was clearly winded, wheezing from the exertion and sprawled out bonelessly in the grass, but the smile on his face was huge and open with joy, so Twi revised his planned bollocking to an exasperated sigh and stole a maple-pecan plait out of Wild’s stash.

It was, irritatingly, absolutely delicious. Perhaps even worth pissing off the kitchen for.

Once everyone had eaten their fill of sweets and had gotten ridiculously sticky, Zelda had shown them a secret passage back into the castle hidden behind an overgrown rosemary bush, and had taken them down several flights of stairs to the source of the hot spring that supplied the castle with water. There was a huge pool bubbling away, letting off clouds of steam, and the water ran down over the edge, streaming down the stone sides and running into the entrance to several pipes which funneled the water away and up into the rest of the castle. They cleaned themselves up there, scooping water out into bowls so they could wash. Shadow was still very impressed by hot water on demand, even though he’d been living in the castle for a few days now and had experienced it several times.

The next stop on the Shadow Distraction journey was the Library. As befitting the Royal Family, the Library was expansive and grand, stuffed full of books from every corner of Hyrule as well as lands beyond. Standing under the domed ceiling, pale stone stretching high above his head, Shadow was gaping, taking in the large, polished bookcases lining the walls and standing proud along the floor, the dark wood of the rolling ladders and carved shelves making the colourful binding of the books stand out beautifully. The silver and gold printed lettering on the spines glittered in the sunlight that filtered through stained-glass windows, motes of dust swirling and dancing as the small group made their way inside.

“We should be the only ones here today, apart from the librarians of course.” Zelda said, her voice echoing a little. “The library is open to everyone in the kingdom, and we usually have researchers and professors of all sorts in here since the subject selection we have is enormous. But since it’s market day, it’s a lot less busy.”

“I didn't know there were this many books in the  _ world,  _ let alone in one place.” Shadow was turning slowly as he walked, taking it all in. “And anyone can come in and just...read them?”

“Mmhmm, absolutely anyone. Borrowing the books is limited to those who are living inside the city limits, except in special circumstances, but we’ve had people from many distant lands come and research here. My father believes that knowledge shouldn’t be locked away or accessible only to the rich, and I agree.” She led the group over to a cluster of well-worn leather armchairs, broken-in and comfortable with age, arranged around a low table. Similar set-ups were scattered around the hall, in between the free-standing bookcases. “It’s a nice way to pass an afternoon, especially since the others are at the market.”

Well, that answered Sky’s unvoiced query about what she’d told Shadow everyone else was doing. It wasn’t even wholly incorrect. Three of them  _ had _ been at the market after all.

Wild had picked up a directory, and after checking it, had headed off in the direction of food history and recipe books. Twilight had wandered off towards the fiction section, making his way into the epics and adventure ballads before sneaking into the romance section while he thought no-one was looking.

Zelda was talking through the various topics and sections with Shadow, who was completely overwhelmed by choice. He frantically scanned over the sheet of parchment she held, trying to figure out what his literary interests actually were. There wasn’t a lot of written history in the Twilight Realm, most knowledge was passed on through stories and apprenticeships, an oral tradition that stretched back to before their people had tried to invade Hyrule and claim the triforce and that had become even more important when that plan had failed.

“Well, what do you like?” Zelda was trying her best to help, but as someone who had grown up around books and had been reading from a very young age, she was finding it difficult. Shadow did know how to read, thankfully, but he had never done so for enjoyment, and she was floundering a little in the face of his obvious distress.

Sky stepped up beside Shadow, gently taking over. “Do you want to learn something or be distracted?”

Shadow furrowed his brow a little. “I guess...learn something?”

“Okay, so we’ll ignore the fiction section then.” That took about half of the directory out of consideration, and Shadow relaxed a little. “Do you want to learn something like a skill, or something academic, like history.”

“Ugh, not history.”

“A skill, then.” Sky folded the parchment, showing only the instructional and skill-based books. “There’s a lot of different skills, but they generally come down to things that are useful in day-to-day life, or hobbies that you can do for fun. Sometimes it can even be both, like Wild’s love of cooking.”

Shadow glanced over to where Wild had disappeared to, spotting him halfway up a ladder flicking through a slim book with another two perched on the edge of the shelf.

“That...could be interesting, I guess.” He was doing his best to sound casual, but failing miserably. Food in the world of light was really, _ really _ good, and it would definitely be worth learning how to make those pastries...

“We can get him to pick something out for you, to see if you like it? I’d offer, but I can’t cook to save my life.” Sky shrugged. He really  _ couldn’t _ cook. Before Wild had joined the group, he’d actively avoided cooking duty for as long as possible, and when he did finally have to give it a go, pretty much everything he tried to make turned out burnt. Or under-cooked. Or, sometimes, both.

At one point, he’d managed to burn  _ soup _ . How he’d managed that was still considered a great mystery for the ages.

Shadow turned his attention back to the parchment, scanning the topics. “So if that’s his hobby, what do you two do?” he asked, in a seemingly offhand way. They’d sparked his interest now though, he’d had no idea there were so many things you could so for fun. For fun! He couldn’t remember the last time he’d learned to do something just for the enjoyment of doing it.

“I’m a fair hand at woodcarving. That’s another one that can be practical, actually. I’ve made all kinds of things from wood picked up on our journey, like a cooking spoon for Wild. I’ll get him to show you.”

“I’ve gotten into metalworking recently, but before that my main hobby was astronomy.” Zelda took in Shadows confused expression. “Stargazing. I’ve made star charts, learned the names and paths of all the currently known stars, I’ve even found some new ones. That’s more of an academic hobby, but it has a practical element too. Scared my father half to death when the castle staff would find me on the roof with a telescope.”

“Legend likes sewing and embroidery. He’d never admit that last one, but I’ve seen a lot of skeins of embroidery cotton stick out of his sewing kit, and several people have caught him working on projects when he’s on watch.”

“Hyrule is a ridiculously good herbalist.” Wild cut in, coming up to them with a small pile of books in his arms. “No formal learning, but his knowledge is insane.”

“You’re fairly good yourself, you know.” Sky mentioned, thinking of boxes full of small potion vials that had been Hyrule and Wild’s joint effort.

“Eh, there’s a lot of crossover with cooking. And not many people in my time can make potions, so I had to pick it up or else I’d end up burning alive or freezing my bits off in the mountains. But Hyrule takes notes on every kind of plant he comes across with beneficial properties, in every world we go to, and then experiments with making potions with them for fun. So it’s definitely his hobby.”

“...how am I supposed to pick. There’s so many.”

“You can have more than one. You can have as many as you like, really. Most people have a few.” Wild handed Shadow one of the books he had been carrying, which when examined turned out to be a brief introduction to cookery. He winked at Shadow’s surprised face. “My ears are ugly as shit but they still work fine. Sound carries really well in here as well.”

“How about you pick a couple of things that look interesting, we grab you an introduction book on each of them, and you decide if you like them before we get into actually picking a hobby?” Zelda suggested. This was declared sensible, and pretty soon the five of them were sprawled over the chairs with stacks of books beside them, enjoying the afternoon in comfort. The cookery book had been joined by a beginners manual for whittling, a landscape painting guide, and a knitting manual which Shadow was nose deep in. He’d already gone through a book of romantic ballads that Twilight had brought back, deeming it vaguely interesting but not worth pursuing, and given it back to Twi who was now reading through it with a sad, wistful expression.

The day slipped into early evening almost without notice, and when the librarians came round to offer to light the lamps for them it was decided it would be better to head back to Zelda’s rooms. The painting guide was left behind, but Shadow took the cookery, whittling and knitting books back with him along with another woodcraft book and a second yarncraft book, this time with both knitting and crochet. He, Sky and Wild were excitedly discussing woodcraft and carving techniques when they reached the sitting room, Wild recently having started to learn from Sky and quietly looking forward to having someone else there to make all the beginner mistakes with him.

Shadow was pulled up short, however, when he finally looked around the room.

Warriors and Hyrule had been busy. While the others had run interference and worked on the tunic, they had been planning on how best to ask Shadow to come with them, because while none of them had brought it up verbally since Four’s announcement, the fact that they’d all worked so hard and donated so much to get his kit ready spoke louder than words ever could. And, as Warriors pointed out, they all liked the guy - he was a brilliant mix of sarcastic and hilarious, with a caustic sense of humour that fit in well with the group, and even more importantly, Four loved the guy like a brother. 

There had to be a reason that he was even alive after all he’d been through, and it wasn’t beyond the realm of imagination that he was here to come with them. So, they’d ask. Shadow deserved at least that much.

They hadn't wanted to overwhelm him, as he was still a bit wary around them all, but together they had reached the decision that talking about it over a good meal was a decent approach. Food was a great equaliser, after all, and if it all went pear-shaped, an even better distraction. So once the commotion from outside had died down, they snuck down to the kitchen and did their best to, first of all, apologise for the actions of the others and, secondly, charm them into helping with the plan. Hyrule’s earnestness and Warriors’ charisma respectively won them the cooperation of the kitchen, and with only a brief moment of sadness that they couldn’t get Wild in on this part, they raced back to let the others know. The food had arrived minutes earlier, and they had just finished setting up moments before Shadow and the others had entered the room, but the look on his face was worth it.

It had been decided that something too fancy or too fussy would be awkward, maybe even intimidating, especially if things went wrong. So in the end, Warriors and Hyrule decided on finger foods, and plenty of them, and desserts. Several coffee tables had been pushed together in the centre of the room, and clustered on them were a plethora of mismatched platters and trays, fitted together like the world’s strangest jigsaw puzzle. A huge variety of food was stacked up upon them; finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream spilling from the sides, both savoury and sweet tarts with flaking, delicate pastry, miniature pies with steam curling from their tops. Little sausages glazed with something sticky sat stacked in a bowl next to a bread-wrapped baked cheese, melting and oozy with a selection of bread and apples to dip in and topped with crispy garlic and rosemary. Bite sized cakes and brownies rubbed elbows with gooey caramel and chocolate puddings in tiny glasses, sweet and tempting, while apple turnovers filled the room with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg. 

And at the centre of it all, rising above the rest of it, was an enormous cake. Four layers of sponge were split by piped vanilla-infused cream and a hodgepodge of summer berries, topped with crushed meringue and shortbread biscuits, more berries nestled in between and a drizzle of chocolate over the entire thing. It was glorious.

Wild nodded approvingly, causing Hyrule and Warriors to sigh in relief and the others to laugh, before Shadow found his voice.

“What...what’s all this for?”

“Well,” Warriors pushed himself to his feet where he’d been knelt on the floor making some last minute structural adjustments to a small pile of lemon tartlets, “We thought a celebration was in order.”

“For what?” Shadow was clutching his borrowed books to his chest, slightly unnerved by all the attention on him. Four stood from his place next to Legend and walked over, setting a hand on his shoulder and watching some of the tension bleed from Shadow’s frame.

“For you.”

Shadow’s jaw dropped. Then he realised what he was doing, snapped it shut, and settled for staring at Four with wide, blue eyes.

(They’d been grey before, his eyes, but had been blue when he’d woken up in the light. Four could only wonder if this was the same kind of change that had happened when he’d rejected Ganon and Vaati’s influence, when his eyes had changed from a searing red to a cooler, calmer grey to signal his new allegiance, his bond with the four of them.)

“A celebration of life. It seemed only fitting.” Four was absolutely not going to get emotional, he wasn’t. (He was. Red had taken over.) “Second chances don’t happen very often. You’ve got a whole new world to explore, if you want it.”

“Wait,  _ if _ I want it?”

And suddenly, he was Vio. “You do have the option to return to the Twilight realm, if you wanted that instead-”

“Oh piss off, I wouldn’t go back if you paid me. The light has a lot more to offer me, you know.” Shadow had to break eye contact for a second, glancing down at his arms, full of knowledge freely given and shared. “...I’d miss it far more than I miss the darkness.”

“...and the other Twili?” Green asked, heart clenching, hoping desperately that they wouldn’t be the deal-breaker, that Shadow would stay even if it meant leaving behind his people.

“With Ganon and Vaati gone, they don’t need me to protect them. They think I’m dead anyway, they’ll have felt the mirror break. There isn’t anyone there who’d miss me, really, anyway. The two people that give a shit whether I live or not are here.”

There was a slightly offended cry of “Ten, actually!” from the back of the room, Wind pouting in Shadow’s direction.

A small smile, incredulous and happy, graced Shadow’s lips. “Ten.”

“Are you really surprised?” Zelda asked, coming up on Shadow’s other side and bumping his arm with hers, slipping the books out of his grasp. “You are pretty likeable.”

“Although how we’re going to survive with another sarcastic personality in the group is anyone’s guess.” came Time’s voice, wry amusement colouring his words.

The smile gave way to confusion, Shadow looking between Four and Time, while Blue hissed out “I was getting to that!” between his teeth at him. Time was unrepentant, however, and Blue turned to face Shadow with a roll of his eyes.

“So. Do you want to come with?”

“Oh, for-that’s hardly subtle!”

“I wouldn’t lecture me about subtle, Twi, considering the bombshell you dropped a few days ago.” Blue flipped Twi off without taking his eyes off Shadow, causing Wild to fall apart with delighted giggles. “Look, we’ve missed you. We mourned you, thought we’d never get to see you again let alone do any of the stuff we planned for after we defeated Vaati. Green and Red had started making a list of places to take you, people they wanted you to meet, all kinds of stuff.” He stopped, blinked and then Vio was there and taking Shadow’s hands.

“We want you to come with us. To travel with us. It’s not quite what we planned, and no matter how much Blue protests he’d made just as many suggestions as the rest of us did, but you deserve to be able to live under the sun and see the world. The thing about Hyrule is, no matter which one you’re in, there’s always something amazing to see.”

Shadow was stock still, and Green took over, nervous. “You don’t have to! If you want to stay here with Zelda, we understand. You’ve only been awake for a bit, we get it if you want to find your feet first-”

“Yes.”

“-and, okay, maybe this was a bit quick, we should have waited until you were completely healed, but we don’t know when we’ll be dragged off again-”

“Link, yes.”

“-but we’ve got some stuff ready for you, if you decide you want to...wait, yes?”

“Yes.” Shadow’s face was split ear to ear with the biggest smile Four had ever seen on him. “Yes. Take me on your crazy adventure.”

Red tackled him with a scream of joy, and Shadow quickly found himself surrounded, four relieved, matching grins on four faces and four sets of arms enfolding him in a group hug.

Something settled inside him, deep down, and he knew he’d found his family.

“Can we give him the stuff now?” Wind was practically bouncing, only Warrior’s hand on his shoulder stopping him from launching across the room and joining the group hug.

“Can we eat now, is the better question. I’m fucking starving.” Legend piped up, something folded on his lap.

Time flicked him in the ear and swept the folded fabric off his lap, ignoring the grumbled “watch it, old man.” that followed and handed the fabric to Vio. “Let’s start with this, and go from there.”

Vio grinned and turned back to the others, all the aspects letting go so Shadow could have his hands back. Red was fidgeting with excitement. “So,” Vio started, holding out the fabric. “Purple is usually my colour, but in this case I’m happy to share. You can’t wear Wild’s shirt forever.”

Vio took the fabric, gently, and shook it out to reveal a tunic.

A perfectly sized, short-sleeved tunic, purple with hints of blue and red when the light hit it just right, with the hems outlined in a thick tablet-woven trim, a complicated gold pattern with green accents.

(There had been gasps when Legend had revealed his secret purchase, and a fierce hug.)

“We’ve got to have you looking respectable for the road, obviously,” Blue said, as though they hadn’t just spent several hours hand crafting a piece of clothing for him with the help of the others just so he’d have something of his own.

Shadow does his best to hug all four of them at once, the beautiful tunic crushed between their bodies, words failing him. Wind finally gives up on restraint and barrels into them too, followed by Zelda, and then all fourteen of them are clustered together with the celebration feast cooling on the table.

In a few minutes, they’ll all be eating and laughing together, Shadow stopping every few seconds to pull something else out of the bag and marvel at it, right down to the smallest, humblest object, and demand to know who it was from. Four will remind him to eat, constantly, he’s still healing after all, and Shadow will take another bite or two of something before diving back in the bag. They’ll talk well into the evening, the others bringing up fond memories from the journey so far as well as embarrassing moments and awful jokes, and Shadow will be so excited he’ll find it hard to sleep later on that night.

But for the next few moments, he lets himself relax in the group hug, knowing that he is wanted and that he is cared for.

\---

Three days later they set off from the castle, Zelda waving frantically, bags stuffed with food she pilfered from the kitchens and her prayers for good luck and safety hanging over them all.

Shadow’s new tunic catches the sun, golden trim sparkling, and he steps into his new life with Four at his side, heading out into his next adventure. 

**Author's Note:**

> With deepest and most grateful thanks to Lari and DF for their help, support and encouragement.


End file.
